Principles of
Child Development (85-221) Fall 2011
Cognitive, Language, or Social
Observation Paper Assignment
Due: Nov 17th in class
(50 points – 22.5%
of course grade)
The
goal of this mandatory paper
assignment is to relate naturalistic observations of young children to the
themes, theories, and research you are studying.
1)
Answer ONE of the following
questions via naturalistic observation.
How
advanced is the language development of preschoolers AND kindergartners?
Preparatory Reading: Siegler et al.
Chapter 6
Observe the language development
of preschoolers and kindergartners during lunch time at the Children’s
School. Compare and contrast the
preschoolers and kindergartners with respect to at least two of the following
features: comprehension vs. production abilities, phonology, syntax, semantics,
and pragmatics, and use of gesture to augment speech. If there are bilingual children present, note
the effectiveness of their communication compared to the other children. Are there any striking individual
differences? What strategies do the
teachers use to facilitate language development? How does the environment
(e.g., room arrangement, materials) support language development?
How
advanced is the cognitive development of preschoolers AND kindergartners?
Preparatory Reading: Siegler et al.,
Chapter 4, Chapter 7 (plus lots of other places - use the subject index).
Observe the cognitive development
of preschoolers and kindergartners during activity time at the
Children’s School. Compare and contrast
the preschoolers and kindergartners with respect to a variety of cognitive
skills (at least two) from within the following categories: preoperational
thinking, concept development, understanding psychological states, attention,
memory, and problem-solving skills. .
Are there any striking individual differences (e.g., giftedness, retardation,
etc.)? What strategies do the teachers
use to facilitate cognitive development? How does the environment (e.g., room
arrangement, materials) support cognitive development?
How
does the sex of a child affect the social interactions of preschoolers OR
kindergartners?
Preparatory Reading: Siegler et al.,
Chapter 9, Chapter 13, Chapter 15 (plus lots of other places - use the subject
index).
Observe the social interactions of
girls and boys from ONE age group during free play at the Children's
School. Compare and contrast the girls and the boys with respect to at least
two of the following features: social approaches, social behaviors, gender
composition of play groups, enforcement of gender roles by peers, cross-gender
behavior, sex segregation, differences in play types depending on the gender
mix of the play group, etc. Note any striking cultural differences that are
evident. Are there striking individual differences? What strategies do the
teachers use to encourage or discourage sex-typed behavior? How does the
environment (e.g., room arrangement, materials) affect gender development?
**If you would like to study a question
of your own design, you need permission from Dr. Rakison in writing (email
is fine).
2)
Go to the Children's School Entry Door by the Reese Cluster in Margaret
Morrison to schedule two 45-minute
observations on the sheets posted there.
Only one person can reserve each time slot box on the sheet - there are multiple
slots for each time at the Children’s School. Observations are scheduled at the
following times.
Children’s
School (Margaret Morrison) Mon.-Thur.
|
|
Preschool (33-57 months) |
Kindergarten (57-69 months) |
|
Language
Skills during Activity/Lunch |
12:00-12:45
pm |
11:00-11:45
am |
|
Cognitive
Skills during Activity Time |
9:45-10:30
am 1:30-2:15
pm (M/W) |
10:00-10:45
am |
|
Gender
& Social Interaction during
Free Play (perhaps also some Circle time) |
8:30
– 9:15 am 12:30
– 1:15 pm |
8:45
- 9:30 am 1:30-2:15
pm (M/W) |
Reservations
must be made by Sunday for the upcoming week.
Important: You must sign
up for a slot as soon as possible. Extra
credit (2 points on the assignment) will be given to those who sign up for
both sessions by Sunday 16th October).
Failure to complete both assignments due to late sign-up will cannot be used as
grounds for late submission of the paper. In addition, extra credit (2 points) will be given to students who complete both
observations by 27th October (that
is, in the first two weeks after you receive this handout).
Also important: Call Ms. Drash
(412-268-2199) if you need to cancel your observation so that another student
can use your time slot. If nobody answers the phone, leave a message with
day and time of observation and your name. It is then your responsibility
to come back to reschedule.
3)
Learn about your observation site
via the web at www.psy.cmu.edu/childrensschool. Also, do the recommended preparatory reading
before you come to the observation session.
Finally, to get the most out of your
observations, prepare a checklist or observation form including items
listed with the question above. However,
since the unexpected is to be expected when observing children, you should also
be prepared to note interesting behaviors that are not specifically listed.
4)
Report to the Children's School a few minutes before your scheduled observation
time. Use the intercom to ring for
entry. Go to the main office to sign in and get your nametag. Ms. Drash or another staff member will escort
you to the location to conduct your observation. Be sure to turn off your cellphone!
5)
Conduct at least two 45-minute
observation sessions relevant to your question -- one session for
each age level (preschool and kindergarten) if you are studying language or
cognitive skills, and two sessions for one age group (one to observe girls and
one to observe boys) if you are studying social interactions. Submit your notes and a diagram of the
space with your final paper.
Guidelines for Observation
• Watch from a distance, preferably in a
sitting position. Do not join the
group or interfere
with children's activities. In other words, be unobtrusive.
• Cooperate with the teachers and
refrain from talking.
• If a child approaches you for help
(e.g., shoe tying) or conversation,
keep the interaction
as brief as politely possible.
6)
Answer your question in an essay. Be
sure to include each of the following components:
a. State the question being addressed and
indicate its relevance for understanding child development and working with
young children. (4 points)
b. Briefly describe the context for
addressing the question, including site characteristics, day, date, activity
and time of observation. (4 points)
c. Summarize your
observations, making sure to cover all the observation guidelines. (15 points)
d. Relate your observations to specific
concepts, research findings, and theories discussed in class or in the
text. Cite at least three
studies/theories to support your opinions (with names of the
researchers/theories). (15 points)
e. Draw conclusions about the meaning of
what you observed. (4 points)
Your
paper should be 4-5 double-spaced, typed pages, written clearly and concisely
in an organized essay format, without spelling or grammatical errors (5
points). Remember to give the paper a title that summarizes the study and place
your NAME on the paper. Please attach ALL of your observation notes to your
paper (3 points). Be sure to include a
reference page that lists all of the empirical and theoretical work you have
cited in the paper. All papers are due
on Thursday, November 17th by the beginning of class.
Timeline for
Observations Weeks of Oct 17th, 24th, Oct 31st,
Nov. 7th, and Nov. 14th
IMPORTANT: Sign
up at the Children’s School ASAP. I will not accept as an excuse for a late
paper that you did not manage to get a time slot. Extra credit (2 points on the
assignment) will be given to those who sign up for both sessions by October 16th.
In addition, extra credit (2 points) will
be given to students who complete both observations by the 27th of October.
_____/
6 Research question makes clear
what was the topic of investigation.
_____/ 6 Relevance,
or importance of investigating this topic
_____/ 6 Day,
date, and time of each of two observations
_____/ 3 Activity that the children
participated in during the observation (e.g., snack, free play)
_____/ 3 Site
characteristics (tricycles, large open area, etc)
_____/ 15 Observations
are clearly related to language/cognitive/social development and more
specifically, to the research topic of interest.
_____/ 15 Comparisons
are drawn across the behaviors of the two age groups (or sexes for social
interaction only)
_____/ 15 Children’s actual behaviors are described
and are used to discuss larger issues relating to the topic of interest
_____/ 18 Three
theories, ideas, or research findings that are relevant are considered and
presented clearly enough (and in enough detail) to allow the reader to
understand them (6 pts/each)
_____/ 27 Each theory, idea, or finding cited is clearly related to
the observations. (9 pts/each)
_____/ 6 The observations are connected back to the research
question.
_____/ 6 The implications of the observations is considered.
_____/ 9 Writing
is clear and concise
_____/ 3 Spelling
and grammar
_____/ 3 References
are included at the end of the text
_____/ 9 Original
Observation notes are attached
*** Penalty of 2.5 pts
for each page over 5 (not including references)
_____/ 150 TOTAL POINTS
(divide by 10 for score out of 15)